When I was first asked to be a part of this project, I took one look at all of the other women and thought to myself, “I can’t hold a candle to these girls!” Everyone seemed so confident and beautiful, so sure of who they were and who they wanted to be. I’ve never thought of myself as confident, and up until fairly recently, I was struggling to come to terms with who I really am and what my future would have in store for me.

Throughout a lot of my life, I felt alone. I never had a lot of friends, and I spent most of my time on the computer, escaping the world that turned its back on me with video games. I had been teased, hurt, and neglected, and I just didn’t want anything to do with anybody. I struggled with a lot of body image issues, and I just wanted to shrink away into obscurity so that no one could ever scrutinize me. But that isn’t me anymore. After I graduated high school I left my old life behind, and started over.

It took some deep thinking (well, a LOT of thinking, 3 years worth!), I realized that I’m not the confused little teenage girl I used to be. I know who I am, and I know that all those people who teased me were just immature and confused with who they were. I now know what I want to do with my life, and that’s a feeling a lot of them will never know. I want to help people. I want to help everyone. I want to make the world a better place for everyone to live in. A world where everyone can feel accepted for who they are as a person, instead of their heritage, race, sexuality, or social status. I know who I am; I am a Wapsi Girl.

To me, a Wapsi Girl is someone who is beautiful inside and out. Someone who shares all her love with everyone she comes across, just because she can. Someone who accepts and loves everyone. My whole life, I’ve gone out of my way to help people, to pick them up when they fall. I’ve been the best friend, and the shoulder to cry on. I’ve also been the punching bag. I would jump through flaming hoops, just to make someone feel like they aren’t alone in the world, just to see them smile. I never expected anything in return, I never wanted anything from them. I just wanted to see them happy. A Wapsi girl is smart, passionate, self-less, and has a heart big enough to share with the world.

Wapsi Girls are strong, able to handle anything and everything the world throws at them with grace and class. When things get hard, they hold their heads up and march forward, strengthening both themselves and those around them. Wapsi Girls are not afraid to stand up and fight for what they believe in. They can drink and play pool with the boys, or sit at home with a glass of wine and a romantic novel. Wapsi Girls come from all walks of life, and come in every size, shape, and color. We are mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and girlfriends. We are artists, speakers, gamers, comedians, bloggers, bikers, dancers, and singers. Wapsi Girls may be very different from one another, but we are ALL strong, beautiful women.